Which is Better: iHerb or Vitacost? (2020 Update)

For health-food addicts living outside of their home country, it is often difficult (or completely impossible) to find things you might be accustomed to, such as pantry staples, special dietary items, decent quality and priced vitamins and supplements, favorite ‘natural’ toiletries and preferred cleaning products. I’m all for trying out and supporting local products when living abroad, but sometimes you feel like you just need something from home!

Living in Bangkok for six years, I saw the health food industry explode locally, and many more products (both locally-made and imported) become readily available at Bangkok shops and markets.  However, with import taxes as high as 400% (depending on the item), and local organic quality not always to standard, I got accustomed to ordering online from two US-based companies – iHerb and Vitacost. I am constantly asked which I think is better, so here is a run-down on my thoughts, which I hope you will find helpful if you are new to expat online ordering!

Shipping costs:

Vitacost offers a flat overseas (outside the US) shipping rate of US$9.99 a shipment for up to 3.6 lbs on weight. iHerb used to offer flat fees which were great, but they now base overseas shipping costs on item weight. For example, if you just order a lightweight item, your shipping cost is low, and a heavy item means higher shipping charge. Occasionally, iHerb offers shipping sales and free shipping on orders over a certain amount, so keep your eye out for that. MY BEST IHERB TIP – “Shipping Saver” products! Some products will have a little green truck icon on the item page, which indicates the item is a shipping saver. What this means, is that when you put that item into your shopping cart, it is going to reduce the total shipping charges you had up to that point! You can literally watch your shipping total go DOWN by putting these Shipping Saver items into your cart. Here is what I do: if I want something but am not too fussy about the exact brand, I do a search for the item, the site will pull up all results, and I choose to purchase the one which has the green Shipping Saver icon. I have gotten things to where I am normally paying around US$2-3 for a good-sized box of say 10+ items, which come all the way from America, IN LESS THAN A WEEK VIA DHL! This is mind-blowingly amazing. And all you lucky people who live in the US – your shipping is FREE for orders over US$20, by the way.

TDLR: Depending on your location, you may have several shipping options at different price points. Sometimes shipping sales are offered, such as free shipping for orders over X amount. Check frequently, especially during the holidays, and stock up like mad when shipping is free.

Product prices:

Both Vitacost and iHerb offer promotional sales and discounts on items, which you can see on their websites, and/or you may receive an email about upcoming offers if you are signed up for their mailing list. However, I find that generally-speaking, Vitacost’s regular and sale prices are usually lower than iHerb’s, when comparing a particular product. This is not always the case, as occasionally I’ll find something listed for cheaper on iHerb, but it is definitely worth a few seconds to cross check both sites.

Shipping speeds:

My experience with both iHerb and Vitacost varies. I suspect this is due more to the internal customs and postal clearance processes in various countries than it is the fault of the shipper or the shipping service. Sometimes orders make their way to me in a week, and sometimes I might have a rogue parcel that takes a month from the order date for me to receive it. But, now in Cyprus, iHerb’s DHL option has been truly amazing. I am receiving orders straight to our door in just under a week, even during the pandemic! With Vitacost, I made an order months pre-COVID-19, and it took a good two months to receive it. The “slow” DHL Global Mail method takes ages, so keep that in mind.

Variety:

Both sites have a staggering amount of products, and there are still some things that I order from iHerb that are not available on Vitacost, and vice versa.

TDLR: Check both sites when you are looking for something.

Loyalty rewards:

IHerb offers an affiliate program of sorts. Once you create an account, you receive a referral code which people can use to save US$10 on their first order, which also gives you a small amount of reward credit (based on the amount of people’s order when they use your offer code). This credit can be applied to your future orders for merchandise. In addition, iHerb has different customer levels based on the total amount of your previous orders, and they often offer discounts on orders based on your customer ‘tier level.’ Vitacost also has a referral code with a US$10 off coupon, but I have had people tell me it was not always easy to apply or that they were not able to use it, for some reason. As I understand it, in order to use the Vitacost referral discount, new customers must initially sign up for Vitacost through the link you give them (i.e., if someone has already signed up for a Vitacost account, they cannot use the referral link that you give them).

My referral code for iHerb is LTC274, which you can use for a 5% discount on all orders.

Vitacost no longer offers a referral code or affiliate discount. Saying that, their prices are low and they frequently have sales. They have a tab called “Promo Pocket,” which shows their current sales and discounts, so take a look at that when you are making an order.

Customs and duty:

In Bangkok, as long as I kept the order total (goods cost and shipping cost included) US$52.00, I was fine. Over that, it was hit and miss – you might get charged, so stay safe and keep order totals low. In Dubai I have ordered up to the same amount and been safe. When we first moved to Saudi, there was no VAT, and I didn’t have to pay anything on my orders, however, in time, that went to 5%. Now, in Cyprus, items coming from outside the European Union are subject to tax and an import duty if they total more than 17.50 Euros. The amount varies depending on whether the item is classified as “food,” “cosmetics,” etc. To give you an example, on an average iHerb order of say US$75.00 in value, I usually get hit up for about 12.00 Euros.

TDLR: Check your country’s customs and duty rules on imports.

What I do to decide who to order from:

So, in a nutshell, which do I use, iHerb or Vitacost? If I’m not in a rush for a product, I simply open both websites and load up identical shopping carts with what I want, on both sites. I then look at the shipping weight (to make sure my order is not overweight, and to see if perhaps I am underweight and can order more items). I then compare the total cart and shipping price to see which is cheaper (often, the final amount I would pay is much lower on iHerb if I have accumulated reward credit, for example). As I already have my credit card and address info saved on both sites, it’s just a matter of clicking through the order, and then I’m done!

If I want something quickly, I just order from iHerb. This is due to the fact that we are getting things so quickly here in Cyprus (which wasn’t the case in the previous countries we have lived in).

Some of the links on this page may be affiliate links.  Jennifer M.S. Robertson, LLC is a participant in the iHerb Rewards Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn advertising fees by linking to products mentioned. If you purchase a product through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same, but Jennifer M.S. Robertson, LLC will automatically receive a small commission.